Moving shop

Well, I just found out today that I have to be out of my current shop by the end of the month. Basically, I was using a building that a contractor that most of my work has been for lately owned. Things with him have been dicey for the last few weeks, and I never really know anymore what is true and what is not. Yesterday, he told me he would have a drawing to me today for cabinets for a custom home he is building. Today, when he finally called me, he told me that it wasn’t in the budget (I hadn’t even given him a cost yet) and that he was letting his dad use the building for his farm market. (The shop was located right next to his dads greenhouses.)So now I have to decide what to do. My dad has said that I can use his pole barn, which would give me a good amount of area to work in. That is, if we can come to an agreement on which space I can use. When he first brought up the option of using his barn, he was very gungho about it. Now, when I talked to him today, he doesn’t sound that excited.My other option is my garage, which is 24×20, and full of stuff at this point. It would be very cramped, but it would definitely save on gas. The other issue is my driveway, which is long, winding, and up hill, so getting lumber delivered might be difficult.I would have wiring to do in either location, and would definitely need to get better lighting in my garage. The ceiling is low in my garage, while in my dad’s barn there is plenty of clearance for flipping plywood or long boards end for end.Basically, my dad’s barn would be the easiest place to work in. But, as much as I love my father, he can be quite frustrating at times. :) I’m sure he would say the same about me. Also, my parents have been talking about selling their house, and if that happened, I would just have to move shop, again.My garage would be nice because its close, and wouldn’t cause major family issues, well, other than me being home more, which I’m sure my wife would get sick of in a hurry. :) But it would not be an enjoyable workspace, to say the least.

It sure would help to just have work pouring in where I could find a decent place to rent. . .

6 comments so far

Hang in there. Change gives you many opportunities to improve things. so stay positive and don;t settle for less and things will turn out great. That said, Working at home buys you time if something better comes along.

-- Kip Northern Illinois ( If you don't know where your goin any road will take you there) George Harrison

Sparky,Till the money is there it sounds like the garage is the place to be. It may not be the best set up but it is the cheapest. Until you have a steady income the last thing you want to do is have to worry about covering the cost of renting a shop. Besides the rent, are all the other costs that are involved. You can always p/u material yourself, its a pain in the butt for now. Concider yourself lucky that you have the space to setup at home, things could be a lot worst. There are a lot cabinet shops that were started in the garage.

I would go with your garage for now. The building belongs to you and no rent. If buisness is good maybe you can build down the road. I was going to build a 30 X 40 shop in the back yard but circumscances beyond my control, it would not allow me to do this for now. So I told myself I had to start some where. The new shop is in my 14 X 21 garage. Anything is possible if you want it to work. You need to consentrate on how you will get it to work and not on why it won’t work.

Well, after a lot of thought and discussing with my dad and my wife, I am moving into my dad’s barn. It will be much easier, quicker, and cheaper to get set up there. I didn’t realize that he already has a couple 220 lines that we can drop where needed.It doesn’t make sense to drop a bunch of money into my garage, or even my barns (it would take about $6000 to get my old barns usable) when I am still trying to get my name out and currently only have one 4’ wall cabinet to build.